Not guilty plea after Marines nearly run off road

A Lynnwood man being held for allegedly trying to force a vehicle driven by two Marines off Interstate 5 in July pleaded not guilty in King County Superior Court Tuesday.

Michael D. McCright, aka Michael Jihad, is being held for a July 12 incident involving a government-owned car driven by USMC Staff Sgt. Ryan Picklesimer and USMC Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Lopez. McCright allegedly tried to drive his own car into the vehicle occupied by the two Marines.

In court Tuesday, attorneys for McCright requested that no photos of McCright's face or of him wearing a jail jumpsuit be published or shown. The judge denied the request to not show his face, but ruled that writing on McCright's jail jumpsuit shall not be shown.

McCright is also under investigation by the FBI for possible domestic terrorism.

In a court filing, prosecutors said McCright's cell phone was used on at least three occasions to contact one of two men accused of plotting a suicide bombing attack on the Military Entrance Processing Station on East Marginal Way, the same facility Picklesimer and Lopez were departing just before the July 12 incident occurred.

A federal criminal justice source said the FBI had McCright on their radar even before the July 12 road rage incident. Now he's part of an even broader terror investigation.

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McCright has a long criminal history and is a three strikes candidate. Prosecutors have requested that McCright's bail be set at $2 million.

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Prosecutors say McCright's phone was used to contact Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif, who also went by Joseph Anthony Davis, 33, of Seattle. Abdul-Latif Walli Mujahidh, also known as Frederick Domingue, Jr., 32, of Los Angeles, were arrested on June 22 and face terrorism and firearms charges for the suspected bombing plot. McCright's calls to Abdul-Latif occurred prior to June 22.

Abdul-Latif and Mujahidh were arrested after nearly a month of surveillance and recordings by FBI, with the help of an informant recruited to join the plot. During that time, law enforcement say they learned Abdul-Latif and Mujahidh intended to shoot people enlisting in the armed forces at the Military Entrance Processing Station on East Marginal Way (MEPS).

"Driven by a violent, extreme ideology, these two young Americans are charged with plotting to murder men and women who were enlisting in the Armed Forces to serve and protect our country," said Todd Hinnen, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security.